Notorious Cemetery Within Australia’s Most Haunted Town

Notorious Cemetery Within Australia’s Most Haunted Town

St. Johns Cemetery, Kapunda

The small, former mining community of Kapunda is commonly referred to as the most haunted town in Australia. It holds what is likely to be South Australia’s best-known cemetery, which happens to be surrounded by some extremely sinister rhetoric.

Tombstones in Kapunda's St. Johns Cemetery.
Graves within Kapunda’s supposedly haunted St. Johns Cemetery.

This cemetery was once overlooked by St. Johns Church and a Presbytery, built in 1854. The Presbytery became a school in 1869 and later a reformatory for young girls, who had committed minor criminal offenses, before closing in 1909. The area’s negative image has been perpetrated by local folklore and a controversial documentary, which circulated many untruthful stories to a wide population. Since then, vandalism, trespassing and general safety concerns resulted in the church and former reformatory’s ruins removal. The St. Johns Cemetery, formed in 1861, still remains and has taken the spotlight for many insidious ghost stories.

Kapunda haunted cemetery.
Me standing in front of the hill where the St. Johns Church and reformatory once stood overlooking the cemetery.

Haunted Cemetery Tales

Historians and many individuals within the paranormal community have worked to dispel myths surrounding the St. Johns Cemetery within Kapunda. Although, still a favorite location for ghost seekers and possibly haunted, many of the ghost stories plaguing the cemetery are historically inaccurate.

Moon over Kapunda's spooky St. Johns Cemetery.
Full moon shining down on the haunted St. Johns Cemetery below.

One of the most cited stories is that of a young girl named Ruby Bland. Rumor spread that Ruby fell pregnant after being raped by the resident priest during her stay at the reformatory. In order to cover up this terrible sin, the priest attempted to perform an abortion on Ruby, killing her and the unborn child in the process and then burying them in the St. Johns Cemetery. This story is not based on fact. It is known that Ruby did exist and died in hospital after the reformatory had closed. She was not pregnant and died of complications related to gallstones. Many still tend to believe the sensationalized story, thinking that there may have been a cover up associated by the church. Regardless, sightings and reports of a young girl’s ghost walking through the graveyard are common. It is said that this spirit is in search of her lost baby.

Behind the cross is the hill the church and reformatory of Kapunda stood.
Cross in front of the former old church and reformatory’s hill.

The spirit of the so-called deranged priest who was said to have raped Ruby also has claimed sightings. This is thought to be a malevolent entity but also has obvious controversial origins. What is known is that multiple priests who lived in the premises passed away suddenly, yet naturally. Although, there is no substantiated evidence to suggest they have taken up residence in the area as ghosts.

Tombstone in Kapunda, South Australia.
Leaning headstone in the St. Johns Cemetery of Kapunda, South Australia.

More, exaggerated stories of suicide and mistreatment within the reformatory have been spread. The truth is that no girls ever died whilst in care at the reformatory. Rumors of mistreatment probably stemmed from the fact that two of the reformatories rooms were converted into prison-like cells. This was necessary as many of the girls attempted and pulled off successful escapes. The legend of Vera has spawned from such stories. Vera is supposedly the ghost of a mistreated girl who spent time at the reformatory and is buried within St. Johns Cemetery. She is said to rise from her grave, holding a candle lit lantern and walk the grounds of the cemetery after dark, slowly wandering up the overlooking hill where the reformatory once stood. The name ‘Vera’ was rumored to have been etched into the walls of the now demolished reformatory and has been recently sighted traced into the dirt of the cemetery’s ground.

Full moon over Kapunda Cemetery.
Moonlit St. Johns Cemetery in Kapunda.

More strange paranormal claims have come out of Kapunda’s St. Johns Cemetery. These include phantom footsteps, the sensations of feeling a nearby presence and hearing disembodied babies crying especially along the fence-line, where many marked and unmarked baby graves exist. You can find the baby memorial by turning right immediately after entering the cemetery through the main gates, and following the fence line.

St. Johns Cemetery tribute to baby graves.
Marker for babies graves in St. Johns Cemetery.

Visiting The Haunted St. Johns Cemetery and Kapunda

The St. Johns Cemetery is poised to remain a site of high traffic from paranormal enthusiasts and thrill seekers for years to come. The Cemetery itself is a beautifully grim preservation of Kapunda’s past. To get to the cemetery, you will need to drive down a dirt road, but nothing too extreme. You can park directly outside the gates of the cemetery. Here are the GPS Coordinates. Visitors to the cemetery should also check out other haunts within the town, such as the Courthouse, Jail and the North Kapunda Hotel.

Graves in St. Johns Cemetery, Kapunda.
The many graves of Kapunda’s St. Johns Cemetery.

Unfortunately, due to a sensationalized false past, St. Johns Cemetery has fallen into disrepair. Sadly, many of the graves have been broken and vandalized. While I encourage visitors to this area, I like to hope that respect will be shown to the structures here.

Haunted Cemetery in Kapunda, South Australia.
Sun shining on South Australia’s St. Johns Cemetery.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

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About Amy

Amy is a world traveller and explorer of creepy locations. She has visited some of the most famously haunted places around the world in search of evidence of the paranormal. Follow Amy's Journey:

Comments (14)

  • Tom

    Posted by Tom on February 16, 2018

    What is the address of the St Johns Cemetery? There are a couple in Kapunda. Thanks

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on February 16, 2018

      The Cemetery is located on St Johns Road (not to be confused with the General Cemetery located on Tarlee Road).

  • Sonia

    Posted by Sonia on February 25, 2018

    The cemetery is a lovely place to visit, go to the north Kapunda pub for a great meal, staff are very friendly.

  • Neil Hort

    Posted by Neil Hort on August 29, 2018

    I’m puzzled – you claim ghosts haunt where they lived, where they died, where they were killed AND where they were buried? Or even where their babies were buried? How does that work?

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on September 2, 2018

      Hey Neil! Thanks for reading my blog and for the comment. Strangely enough, I myself, am a skeptic. I’ve had experiences that I cannot explain, though am looking for answers. Here, on Amy’s Crypt, I blog about supposedly haunted places that I have visited. I carefully research each location’s history and love to share the many ghost stories I discover. I’ve learnt many differences and similarities between ghost stories all across the world among different cultures. Many people theorize spirits could haunt the types of places you have described in your comment. Whether they actually do or not remains a mystery.

  • Donna

    Posted by Donna on September 29, 2018

    We couldnt find this St Johns Cemetery last week when visiting Kapunda, the GPS sent us out of town to a farm ….is this where it is….can you just drive in without permission….I want to visit the babies memorial as there is a baby boy Herbert Faul ,he was 5days old, he was my Grandmas brother…..

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on September 29, 2018

      Hi Donna. Yes it is tricky to find, and it does lay outside of town. You will have to drive down a dirt road to get there, however, it is not that extreme (we drove on it in a small car). Here is a link to the exact coordinates of St John Cemetery Kapunda on Google Maps. Best way to get there in my opinion is to drive away from the town on Truro Road, and turn right on to St Johns Road. Once you enter the main gates of the cemetery, turn right and follow the fence and you will find the baby memorial. You cannot drive in the cemetery, but you can park on the side of the road just outside the gate. Best of luck finding it. Thanks for the question.

  • Neil Kemp.

    Posted by Neil Kemp. on November 17, 2019

    Hi Amy, I visited St. John’s cemetery in November, and took some random photos and left, when I up loaded them on to my computer. I could not believe what I was looking at ! In one photo there is a large Orb with the face of a woman in it, floating a long a pathway. In the second photo the floating Orb has moved a long the pathway. In both photos the woman’s face is watching us. A part from knocking my socks off, I really don’t know what to make of it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Kind regards Neil.

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on November 18, 2019

      Hi Neil! Thanks for reading! That is so cool you visited the cemetery for yourself and managed to pick up some anomalies!

  • mick orlick

    Posted by mick orlick on December 19, 2019

    i have lived in kapunda over 30 years in an 1865 miners cottage and i have been onto the reformatory when it was standing.i wandered the block of land and the building which had lots of grafitti and was a regular place for youths to get drunk and hang out .there were lots of people into withcraft type practices going there so the local council had the building demolished and noww there is no traffic on that hill generally.when i went there decades back i found about 5 or 6 small simple headstones of the original inhabitants of the churchabout 50-70 metres north of the building.i have since been looking for them recently with aid of my drone as they are not in the area now i can only guess that some very thick and hard to penetrate thorny bushes are now covering them.also snakes possibly live in there so im not game to find out.my partner(passed away now) and i were there once as i wanted her to see the old graves section and we seperated .when we got together she said there were kids playing hide and seek behind graves near me and they were doing same in the line of gum trees as well .there was nothing there!.and i said so to the effect “i cant see anyone how did they get here”.she said maybe on their bikes.me “what are they wearing “her -long sleeve tshirts.i then argued with her that there was no one here just ustill we got into the car .she was still protesting to me that they were running from one tree to another and poking there heads out.i then walked down to the row of trees and of course there was nothing there ..no kids no bikes nothing just silence.she was seeing one thing and i was seeing another .well it haunts me till i die ,as she swore black and blue what she was seeing and i thought she was going crazy.and NO we had’nt been drinking .and it was a spur of the moment decision on my part to take her there as she knew nothing of kapunda.i will never forget itshe died of cancer 3 years later.i have many photos and drone shots of st johns cemetery

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on December 19, 2019

      Hi Mick! Thanks so much for reading! That is a really weird and interesting story you have shared it, so much strange activity is said to occur here. Pretty cool you had located some headstones up by the old reformatory, I’ve never been up there myself and didn’t know anyone was buried up there either. I love that you have used your drone there, I’m looking forward to my next visit to use mine too.

  • Bear

    Posted by Bear on July 24, 2022

    Hi been reading your blog, and others about Kapunda Cemetery and there experiences they have had whilst visiting.

    Not too sure about the story stretched out story about Miss Ruby Bland, however, we visited the Cemetery , low and behold , the old gum tree, with the circular branch , that appears to be a hanging branch , well tonight , we found witching tools strapped high up in that tree, how they got up there is beyond us , as this branch is NOT in hand reach. ( thats 1 ) 2: whilst we very respectful walking around we, too could hear footsteps and twigs snapping behind us. 3: when we located , presumably the final resting place of Ruby, there again were witching tools, ie Pentagram strapped to her head stone, I dont know people would go as far as this, how dis respectful. if you go to ghost hunt , thats fine , but come on rituals to conjure , something evil how sad….

      Amy

      Posted by Amy on July 26, 2022

      Oh no! We did’nt see or experience anything of that nature during our visit, but yes that is a shame inviting dark energies into a resting place. Thanks for sharing.

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